ISBN 978-1-934962-56-5

"In a very pleasing twist of expectations, some fiercely human, comic moments make for breathtaking dramatic tension."

- LA Weekly

From the Theatre @ Boston Court Production

The Sequence

by Paul Mullin

2 Males, 1 Female

Synopsis:  Renegade researcher Craig Venter develops a controversial "shotgun" technique for sequencing DNA, then quits the National Institute of Health in frustration over an institutional lack of imagination.  He quickly makes a fortune in the private sector, and becomes simultaneously the most loved and hated figure of contemporary science.

     A folksy doctor named Francis Collins inherits the U.S. government's colossal Human Genome Project from no less a giant in the field than James Watson.  When his victory in the sequencing race is threatened by Venter, he quickly makes the transition from apparent bumpkin to fierce competitor.

     Kellie Silverstein, an eager young journalist, cuts her teeth on the biggest science story of all time, the race to decipher the dynamic code of life hidden within the human genome, while she simultaneously runs a race with her own mortality. 

     In the competition to sequence the human genome, will the grand prize be the public good or private profit?  And how will three people, amid the frenzied race to determine what makes a human being, discover their humanity?